The Board found that the veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil was not incurred or aggravated during service and could not be presumed due to herbicide exposure. The evidence did not link the cancer to his Vietnam service, and a significant lapse in time between exposure and development of the disorder significantly weighed against the claim.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence failed to show any connection between the veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil and his active duty or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2007
- Citation
- 0730996
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0730996.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a new VA medical opinion addressing all of the Veteran's claimed in-service toxic exposures, including herbicide agents, asbestos, concrete dust, burning waste, asphalt, and related chemicals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the case to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claim for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil due to toxic exposure in service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as there was no prior claim filed before October 14, 2019.,New evidence has been received to support the service connection claims for squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil and adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells. These claims are now granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic fatigue as secondary to squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil is denied. The Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
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